Then and Now - Family TV Shows

The television shows out there today are not near as good as they were when we were children. Or let me modify that statement. The television shows for KIDS are not as near as good as they were when we were kids. Unless of course you look at PBS. PBS still has some great kids programming. But let's take a look at THEN versus NOW...kid's TV shows.

THEN:
CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL

Image credit: www.babble.com

NOW:
THE CARRIE DIARIES

Image credit: www.songonlyrics.com

Clarissa was a fairly innocent junior high/highschool girl, learning about life. Carrie will later on go on to write about Sex in the City. Which one do you want your daughter to learn from?

THEN:
MY LITTLE PONIES

Image credit: sharetv.org

NOW:
MY LITTLE PONIES

Image credit: multiplayerblog.mtv.com

I happen to think that the new My Little Ponies are kind of cute and the show is not near as cheesy as the old one, but some think that the ponies being "slimmed down" is a sign of our society putting so much stress on the pretty. I think both styles of ponies were pretty and I think the new ones are just more "Anime" looking because that's the in style thing these days.

THEN:
FULL HOUSE

Image credit: www.fanpop.com

NOW:
MODERN FAMILY

Image credit: ABC.com

I won't get too far into the reasons I really don't like this show, but for a show that is about a family, I don't think it is really a show you should watch with your family. Maybe your husband or wife, but not the kiddos! Not like you could with Full House, Family Matters, Step By Step, or any of those great TGIF shows from way back!

You are free to form your own opinions. These are just a few of the differences, and I definitely think that THEN was better than NOW!

Tell Your Mountain How Big Your God is!

For day 14 of the July Blogger's Challenge, the challenge is to write a post about faith. This fits right in with my plans because I wanted to post about this and we've been talking about faith in church lately.

What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Recently, our pastor has been giving sermons about faith. It has been a whole different approach really to the way that I was taught previously. It was always, "Well, you can't change some things, but oh well. Just accept it. Have faith." Like somehow that makes it all better. Faith should be powerful, but lately, looking at it from the above approach, it has made me feel weak.

I was not expecting to have another child. I'm not prepared for this, and neither is my wallet! Everyone kept telling me, "Have faith. God will provide." That didn't make things any better. So I just sit here and wait for God to provide? What do I do until then? I do everything I can to change things. Then people tell me there's some things you can't change so just leave them to God. I never really understood what that meant.

Then my pastor said something profound. Declare it to God. Have faith that it will be, and it will be. Don't make your prayers be a begging session. Tell God that you know that he can provide for you. Do what you can to change things, of course, but also pray to God with confidence, with faith, with boldness. It will happen!

This changed my total perspective on things. After all, doesn't the Bible say that we can move mountains?
Mark 11:23 says "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them."

Image credit: http://www.crewebyfarndonmethodistchapel.org/fellowship.html

If we have faith in what God will do for us and we declare it with faith, it will happen. Since I've had this perspective this past week, my outlook has been so much sunnier. I've had some bad things happen to me this past week at my job, but it's just slid off my shoulders because I have faith that God knows where I am supposed to be. I am working my way towards achieving His calling for me, and I have faith that it will turn out right.

A Letter to my Husband

I don't usually do this, make my feelings about my husband public. He's not one for PDA's. But I thought that this letter challenge was an opportunity to share my feelings, without getting too mushy, of course. So, here goes.

To my husband:

I want to thank you. I want to thank you for being there for me. Things have gotten rough for both of us at times, and I always know that you will be there for me no matter what.

I want to thank you for putting up with my quirks and understanding my struggles. Not every man would put up with his wife not knowing how to drive and being chauffeured around town. I don't think I let you know enough how much I appreciate what you do for me.

I want to thank you for being a great dad. You are the best dad our kids could ever ask for and everything I expected you would be. I know you didn't have a lot to model from, but you just have a natural knack for all things "Dad".

I want to thank you for doing everything that you can to provide for our family. I know it's been hard, and I also know that you can and will do even more. Just have faith.

I am so blessed to have spent the past 10 years of my life with you and the past 3 years being married to you. Each day I will strive to be the best wife I can be and I look forward to many more years with you.

Love,
Your wife

Ok, so I hope that wasn't too sappy or embarrassing. :)
That's my letter!

You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers - PART TWO

And now....for PART TWO of my Q&A challenge!

boltoncarley asked:
Do you think the counseling degree will help or hinder you in parenting your children?
At this point, I don't see how the degree could hinder me in parenting my children except that I will hopefully get a career out of it and that may cause a little added stress in my life. I don't think it would cause more stress than I'm going through now, though! (Being at a job that you really don't like all that much is pretty stressful.) I think it can help because I have practice listening and helping effectively. I already notice that I have more of a sense when things aren't quite right. There's been times when K started crying about something that just did not seem worth crying over, I talked to her, and I was able to discover what was really wrong and comfort her that things are going to be ok. I'd like to think I'd have those skills as a parent anyway, but I am sure that studying about how to listen effectively to my clients has something to do with that too.

Joanna asked:
Was making your career change a smooth transition? Any suggestions for someone considering making a switch themselves?
I haven't really made a career change per se. I mean, I taught for 3 years and I essentially didn't have a choice but to change my career. I guess I could have kept looking for teaching jobs when I lost my first job out of college, but the passion just wasn't there for me anymore. So in that way, yes it was easy. The thing that has made it difficult was my decision to have another child last year (I ended up skipping two terms so I fell a little behind). Had that been the end of it, I'd be able to just get right back on it, but now I have another one on the way and I'll have to miss at least one term again (though more than likely it will be two). Technically, I have until 2019 to complete my degree, but I definitely don't want to take that long! I have been trying to find jobs that will help make a transition easier, but right now any entry level jobs in the counseling field that don't require a license in counseling pay far less than my current job.

My advice for making a career change - pray on it. Make sure it's something that you are really called to do. Don't jump into it without thinking it through, asking advice from others, researching, etc. I looked at several different schools before I found a great one that has online courses and fits my schedule. They are a little pricier than some other schools, but they are also a really great school! Another key I have found is networking. I still keep in contact with the woman I did my practicum with and I am friends on Facebook with a few of my classmates. It helps me to know how they are doing, when they graduate, and get jobs. It's an inspiration to me and they are always there to offer up advice too!

What are the differences parenting a boy vs. a girl - or is it much the same?
You know, I couldn't really tell you yet. My son is only about 8 months old and a baby is pretty much a baby. His temperament is a little bit different than my daughter's was (he likes to be held A LOT) but other than that there is not much difference yet. We'll see how it's different (as I'm sure it will be) as he gets older!

Del asked:
Do you plan to get your drivers license one day? :)

For those of you who don't know, I don't have my driver's license. As a kid, I was diagnosed with sensory processing (or sensory integration) disorder. It's a disorder that affects how I perceive things and essentially I just get really overwhelmed trying to take in all the information all at once that is needed to drive.
I would like to get my license. It's just so overwhelming for me to drive and I don't really know how to overcome this problem. I have even talked to a counselor about it before, but it didn't really help. She just told me to keep practicing and I don't think she really understood what the problem is. I am not really sure that anything can be done about it, but I do often feel like I am inconveniencing my husband in that he has to drive me everywhere, so I'd like to try.

Amanda asked:
Do you have a dream? If so what is it?
My dream is to be successful in my career, for my husband to also be successful in his career, to have our children thrive and do well, to be comfortable financially and be able to live in a nice house, not cramped like we are now. I don't need to be filthy rich, just able to pay the bills and still have a little leftover to enjoy. I know it's a ways off, but I have faith that we will get there. God does not want his children to be poor and hurting. I keep striving to do His will and I know that he will fulfill his promises.

Thank you everyone for all of your questions! I hope you enjoyed learning more about me, and I hope you'll keep reading!

You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers! - PART ONE

Yesterday, I posted an Ask Me Anything post as part of Liv, Laugh, Love's July Bloggers Challenge. Today, I answer your questions. There were some good ones! I was asked a lot of questions, so rather than make this a really long post, I'm going to break it up into TWO parts! So, here's part one!

Sara asked:
What made you want to go back and get your Masters in Clinical Counseling?

Sara, I could write a whole post on this question! I will keep it fairly simple and say that I felt a calling from God to go into this profession. I taught in Early Head Start (mostly with infants and toddlers) for almost three years when some backhanded things occurred (that frankly, I should have sued over)and I lost my job. After that, it was a few months before I found another job and that job was not even in the teaching field. I tried to substitute teach, but it just didn't feel right to me anymore. I did a lot of soul searching and I felt like teaching (children, at least) was just not what I was supposed to be doing. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, though. I prayed, read my Bible, etc. At my job, my supervisor gave me one of those personality tests (you know, the Myers-Briggs type) and lo and behold it said for my personality type that a good career fit was counseling. A couple of people had stated to me over the past few months that I would make a good counselor. I also had a lot interest in my Psychology courses in undergrad (I almost did a double major, in fact). I just felt that everything was pointing in that direction and so far I still feel that I've made the right choice. I am doing GREAT in school (I am about halfway through and I have a 4.0 GPA) and I have enjoyed every single one of my classes! I've still got a ways to go, but I know that I'm on the right track!

Jen, my sister, and the host of this blogging challenge had a lot of questions for me.

What is the one thing YOU need to do (no one else) to reach your goals?

First, I think I should say what are my goals? Well, the two I want to concentrate on are finishing my Master's degree and losing weight. Finishing my Master's degree is really just about my buckling down, getting my classes completed as quickly as I can. I am only taking one a term right now because I feel that's the way I can do my best. Two a term was just too much for me. For my second goal of losing weight, this one of course will have to wait until after baby #3 is born. I have already lost quite a bit of weight (over 40 pounds) since Baby T was born. So, my plans are that I will DEFINITELY buckle down and exercise more. I need to be able to keep up with my kids! I will eat more healthy foods and exercise at least three times a week. I know this will be tough to do with three kids, but I know I need to do it for myself!

What song title best describes your life?

I don't know if it's really the song TITLE that describes my life, but the song I identify with the most in my life is Awake and Alive by Skillet. I've posted the lyrics below for you to enjoy.

I'm at war with the world and they
Try to pull me into the dark
I struggle to find my faith
As I'm slippin' from your arms

It's getting harder to stay awake
And my strength is fading fast
You breathe into me at last

[Chorus]
I'm awake I'm alive
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life
here (right here), right now (right now)
I'll stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive

I'm at war with the world cause I
Ain't never gonna sell my soul
I've already made up my mind
No matter what I can't be bought or sold

When my faith is getting weak
And I feel like giving in
You breathe into me again

[Chorus]
I'm awake I'm alive
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life
here (right here), right now (right now)
I'll stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive

Waking up waking up
Waking up waking up
Waking up waking up
Waking up waking up

In the dark
I can feel you in my sleep
In your arms I feel you breathe into me
Forever hold this heart that I will give to you
Forever I will live for you

[Chorus]
I'm awake I'm alive
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life
here (right here), right now (right now)
I'll stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive

Waking up waking up
Waking up waking up
Waking up waking up
Waking up waking up
---------------

What do you like best about being a mom?

There's a lot of things I like about being a mom, but I think my favorite thing is watching my kids grow, change, and learn. I am so impressed with how smart my daughter, K, has become. She's a beautiful, articulate, and imaginative 6-year-old. I am so amazed at how big Baby T has gotten already. He's working on crawling, though right now he just rolls to get from place to place. He can even say words already like "Daddy", "Cat" and "Hi!". It's so incredible to see these tiny babies grow up to be such wonderful children!

How have you changed as a parent from your first child to your second?
I haven't really changed that much, but I have tried to spend more time with my children. When you're working full time and you have kids, it's easy to become a little detached or just want to veg out when you get home from works. I make it a point to play with my daughter and my son at least for a few minutes a day. My daughter wants a lot more attention because she's making up for the past few months when the little baby got all the attention. He doesn't need as much now and we can all play together, so I try to make sure I give that to her. We even have "Mommy and K" days every few months where we go out to eat (and try to do it without the baby if at all possible, it's more special to her that way). I am learning to have more fun playing with my daughter in the way that she wants to play. I may be over 30 years old and I don't play the same way a 6 year old does, but I can still have fun!

I will put up PART TWO later on today. Thanks!

Ask Me Some Questions!

So, I'm participating in the July Blogger's Challenge brought to you by Liv, Laugh, Love: A Mommy Blog. Her Day 7 and 8 challenge for us is to ask our readers to ask us some questions. Then on Day 8, we will answer them in a blog post. So...you can post your questions in a comment or on My Facebook Page and I will answer them tomorrow!

Risa